1821.] Literary and Philosopkiral Intelligence. 449 



The Hon. Wn. Erskine Cochrane, directed agahit (ho flame, so as to carry 



of Somerset-street, Pnrfiiicni-srjiiare, it out of its naturally erect tendency, 



London, for an improvement In the and cause it to project over the edge of 



Construction of Lamps, the burner. 

 The improvement proposed in the 0(/s. This is a very ingenious modi- 



construction of this lamp, consists in a 

 peculiar disposition of the parts, by 

 which the flame is made to bend in an 

 id>lique or inclined direction, instead 



fication of Argand's principle, and be- 

 ing really for what its title designates 

 it, viz. an improvement, is sound and 

 tenable; but even here, the specifica- 



)f rising perpeudicularlyfrom the wick, tion is needlessly encumbered with ex- 



by which the shadow of the lamp is not traneous matter, with descriptions of 



thrown downwards as usual, but the parts of the compound which are not ' 



radiation of the light is directly below new; and the incautious introduction 



(he lamp, as well as round it. By the of which, ever more or less exposes a 



peculiar construction of the lamp, it patent to question, 

 will be seen, that a current of air is 



VARIETIES, LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL, 



Including Notices of Works in Hand, Domestic and Foreign. 



\^%/'E present to our readers, in this 

 ' ^ Number of our Miscellnny, an ob- 

 ject of antiquarian and natural ciiriositi/, 

 which cannot fail to fill evenj observer 

 tvith astonishment. It is an exact draiv- 

 iufj of the perfect Mammotlinow exhibit- 

 ing in the Museum of Philadelphia, and 

 we believe the only perfect skeleton of 

 this extinct race in existence. The artist 

 has happily given a correct notion of its 

 vast dimensions, by introducing the figure 

 of a middle-sized man, whose extended 

 arm scarcely reaches the ribs of the ani- 

 mal. JFe have, in various Numhers of 

 our series, inserted all that is known of 

 these skeletons, whose parts are found in 

 large quantities on the Banks of the 

 Ohio, and are often dug up in all coun- 

 tries. In October, 1796, we introduced 

 the specimen found on the La Plata, 

 with Cnviers description ; in 1806, an 

 ueconnt of portions brought to Liverpool ; 

 in 1817 ivc gave Mr. Trimmer s account 

 of the parts foinid near Brentford ; in 

 1819 we inserted the Siberian specimen ; 

 and only last month, the parts lately 

 found near the Midway. This Engrav- 

 ing appears to complete our knowledge 

 of the subject, but we must for ever re- 

 main in the dark in regard to the habits 

 and character of this ivondcr of nature. 



The transfer of the spirit and prac- 

 tices of the Spanish and Portu- 

 guese Inquisitions to Britain, still 

 claims our notice. Wc; cannot sufli- 

 cieutly, nor too often, express our iu- 

 <lignation at tiie insolent, meddling, 

 and inquisitorial powers adopted l)y th<i 

 TWO COMBINATIONS of bigotted Parti- 

 zans, who are ['resuming to measure, 

 by tiieir own narrow minds, (lie li'uits 

 of Fjce Enquiry on ihc i^uat socii>! 



topics of Religion and Politics. 

 Such conspiracies of the lowest degrees 

 of intellect and information against the 

 free energies of the human mind, have 

 long been held in detestation, wherever 

 they have existed; but in England they 

 are an insult jiast endurance, and ought 

 to be destroyed, whatever may be their 

 hypocritical pretensions. Secret inqui- 

 sitions are unknown to our Laws and 

 Constitution ; and every friend of both 

 ought to unite against their Intolerable 

 and insulting ascendancy. At the same 

 time, we do not object to the qualified 

 exertion even of the zeal of bigots.* 

 They say the press is abused — yet,"if so, 

 is their contaminated and unworthy 

 agency the only means of correcting 

 it ? The constitutional powers are 

 sufficient to preserve themselves, and 

 to correct all real abuses. Tiie reason- 

 able course of terrified bigots would 

 be to print their own trash, in opposi- 

 tion to any other trash; and then, by 

 means of their fund, sell it t;heaper or 

 give it away. We remember the asso- 

 ciation which, in 1792, misled the coun- 

 try into the fatal crusade against the 

 rising liberties of France; but though 



* We collect from Mr. Brougham's no- 

 tice of one of these Partizan Societies, that 

 many of the members are otherwise re- 

 spectable, but have ung'uardedly lent them- 

 selves to a sjiccious desig-n, without fore- 

 seeing- the malignant use which niin-ht be 

 made of their names and subscriptions ; 

 and it may therefore be hoped that they 

 will withdraw themselves, and allow base 

 purposes to be eH'ectcd only by the base. 

 Let it never be forgotten by such good 

 men, that, the cud never bunctilics the 

 .-icanh. 



that 



